Participatory action research into donor–recipient relations: a case study

This article describes the exploratory and preparatory phase of a research project designed to use co-operative enquiry as a method for transformative and participatory action research into relations between donors and recipients in two developing countries, Bolivia and Bangladesh. It describes the origins of the idea, the conceptual challenges that the authors faced in seeking funding, and what they learned from this first phase. The authors analyse why the researchers, as well as the potential subjects of the research, were uncomfortable with the proposed methodology, including the challenges arising from their own positions and the highly sensitive nature of the topic. They explain why they decided to abandon the project, and they reach some tentative conclusions concerning the options for participatory action learning and research in development practice.     

浅论构建“和谐”的党政关系

党政关系和党的工作机制方面的不规范导致党内权力关系方面和党政关系方面产生了很多问题。这些问题破坏了党组织与公共权力机关、人民群众之间应有的和谐关系。我们应当通过实现党内民主的制度化,以法制来调整党政关系,最终实现党政关系的规范化。     

Cultural encounters: learning from cross-disciplinary science and development practice in ecosystem health

Overcoming challenges to ecosystem health calls for breaking down disciplinary and professional barriers. Through reflection on a research and development project to address pesticide-related concerns in northern Ecuador, this article presents challenges encountered and accommodations made, ranging from staff recruitment, through baseline assessments and community education activities, to mobilising for policy change. In so doing, it exposes underlying problems of paradigm and process inherent in bringing researchers and development practitioners together, in addition to the problematic role of advocacy that is associated with joint research and development initiatives in the fields of agriculture and health.     

Public advocacy and people-centred advocacy: mobilising for social change

Public and people-centred advocacy are shaped by the political culture, social systems, and constitutional framework of the country in which they are practised. It is the practice of advocacy that determines the theory, and not vice versa. If advocacy is not rooted in grassroots realities and is practised only at the macro level, the voice of the marginalised is increasingly likely to be appropriated by professional elites. However, the very credibility of advocacy practitioners depends on their relationship with mass-based movements and grassroots perceptions of what constitutes desirable social change.     

Capacity building through secondment of staff: a possible model in emergencies?

This article offers a case study of a secondment of staff from a Northern NGO (Trócaire) to a Southern partner, the Catholic Development Commission (CADECOM) of Malawi, as a possible model for capacity building. The approach described was tried in the context of an emergency programme, but it could also be used in a development context. The author analyses the appropriateness of the model in terms of its administrative structure, focus, and impact, and draws lessons for practitioners for its successful application.     

中国传统社会权力主导资源分配现象剖析

中国传统社会特殊的体制结构决定了政治权力的中心和主导地位 ,形成了政治权力主导和支配经济资源分配及配置的局面。这首先表现为王朝建立之初的后革命时期的资源再分配过程中 ,其次也反映在各个王朝常态演进的各个时期里 ,其本质正是马克思所说的“权力捉弄财产”。这一情况的普遍存在 ,在中国古代不仅造成了市场的扭曲 ,还带来了根深蒂固的权力崇拜 ,给近代以来的中国现代化进程带来了严重的负面影响     

Juxtaposing handloom weaving and modernity: building theory through praxis

This article investigates the interaction between the processes of building development theory and development practice, arguing that theory must start with practice – and should not be top–down, starting with the ‘outside gaze’ of a supposedly detached academic or policy maker. The questions posed point to critiques of mainstream development narratives and notions of innovation through the diffusion of new technologies. The authors suggest that the assumptions embedded in mainstream development processes lead to unequal access to global and local markets, and that when they are imposed from the outside without a real understanding of the context, the development project is bound to fail. Parameters for assessing and evaluating outcomes also need to be based upon a close understanding of context – and this often comes through active involvement within it and not through being ‘detached’ and outside it. The assumption that an outside gaze is ‘objective’ is based in an implicitly colonial discourse, while building theory by being involved in the practice produces better methodologies for action and development.     

市民社会视野中的社区警务战略

市民社会的兴起是社区建设的重要特征,给新警务模式———社区警务带来了巨大影响。市　　民社会的兴起是提出社区警务的重要背景,是社区警务运行的现实基础,有效促进了社区警务工作的变　　革。     

论司法和谐视角下的基层法院民事审判

基层法院民事审判工作涉及社会的方方面面。而民事领域中司法和谐的构建和实现有赖于审判实践的发展,有赖于一系列制度、机制的确立。     

毛泽东统筹兼顾、协调发展思想再探讨——兼论构建和谐社会的方法论

我国社会主义建设中统筹兼顾、协调发展思想的倡导执行始于第一代党的领导集体,其中毛泽东的理论成就和历史贡献最大。本文集中阐述了毛泽东探索社会主义现代化道路中统筹兼顾、协调发展的主要思想成果,以及为我们今天构建社会主义和谐社会所提供的方法论启示。